Hi, I have heard that it is very difficult or impossible for a male to be infected by HIV from unprotected sex with a female. What are the risks for purely heterosexual men?

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hello,

You heard it's difficult or impossible for a male to be infected by unprotected sex with an HIV-positive female?????? Hmmm . . . I'll bet that would come as quite a surprise to the over 22,000,000 men infected with HIV worldwide! Listen up! The vast, vast, vast majority of these gents contracted the virus heterosexually. Yes, that means they caught it from unprotected heterosexual sex with an HIV-positive woman!

I'm not sure where you heard the myth that it is "very difficult or impossible" for men to contract HIV from positive females, but it certainly has nothing to do with the reality of the AIDS pandemic! Unprotected sex is risky business, whether you are straight as a lawn dart of gay as a closeted GOP congressman.

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